It's essential to stay tuned with what beef consumers are thinking when they make purchasing decisions at the meat case. Knowledge of how consumers perceive similarities and differences between various beef cuts enable the industry to more effectively communicate helpful information about beef cuts and merchandise them.
The beef checkoff-funded Beef Valuation Determinants Study was conducted in December 2009 to gain more insight into how customers evaluate beef cuts and what changes can be made to impact their purchases.
Methodology
•810 online interviews were conducted nationally with adults ages 19-65 who are the head of their household and either share the role of or are the primary grocery shopper for their household.
•On three groups of questions, consumers were randomly assigned a subset of the attributes and 16 cuts being analyzed:
•On three groups of questions, consumers were randomly assigned a subset of the attributes and 16 cuts being analyzed:
1. Similarity comparisons of cuts – each respondent compared two cuts, one at a time, to the other 15 other cuts.
2. Best/Least Exercises – respondents ranked groups of four cuts based on macro attributes like convenience and value.
3. Attribute ratings – each respondent rated cuts on 11 of 22 attributes, so cuts could be grouped based on their ability to provide important consumer benefits.
Key Findings and Action Steps
Key Finding – Without guidelines, consumers tend to organize beef cuts into three clusters and prefer the meat case be arranged by these types.
1.Ground Beef and Cubed Steak
2.Traditional (better known and used) Steaks including the Beef Loin T-bone Steak Bone-In, Beef Ribeye Steak Boneless and Beef Loin Top Sirloin Steak Boneless
3.All other remaining cuts (with the exception of Beef Brisket and Beef Chuck Pot Roast Boneless which do not pair with any of the other 16 cuts)
Action Step – Think of new ways to organize cuts in the case. Since ground beef is a price leader and a popular, convenient option for consumers, group other cuts with similar benefits, like cubed steak, in close proximity to ground beef in the meat case. Consumers need encouragement to buy those less familiar cuts, so merchandise them alongside the familiar cuts. Maybe lean, marinating cuts can become a new destination section in the case, or all comfort items including roasts could be categorized together. They key will be to include signage that identifies each of these sections of your case so it's obvious to your customers that all the cuts in those sections share the key attribute by which they're grouped.
Key Finding – Respondents are at least somewhat familiar with all but 2 of the 16 cuts. The two least familiar of the 16 used in this survey are Chuck 7 Bone Steak (19% unaware of cut) and Beef Shoulder Top Blade Steak Boneless (Flat Iron Steak) (13% unaware of cut).
Action Step – Since you know your customers are coming to the meat case for familiar steaks and ground beef, highlight cuts like the Chuck 7 Bone Steak and the Beef Shoulder Top Blade Steak Boneless (Flat Iron Steak) that your customers are not as aware of. Only 651 out of 125,000 total beef ads (0.5%) were for the Chuck 7 Bone Steak, according to Promodata, total US, 52-week period ending 6/17/10. More ad features could help build awareness of this cut. Also, the Flat Iron Steak was only introduced in 2001, so it is a fairly new cut that continues to grow in familiarity. To increase awareness of many different cuts, direct customers to an Interactive Meat Case tool on BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com where they can click on a section of the meat case and get tips and recipes for each cut.
Key Finding – Among different demographics, Boomers (People born between 1946 and 1964) and Food & Health consumers are generally more familiar with the various beef cuts than Generation X (People born between 1961 to 1981) and Millennials (People born between early 1980s and 2000s).
Action Step – Be sure to keep in mind that you have customers of varying ages and backgrounds shopping your meat case. Use the Beef Training Camp resource to make sure meat department employees are equipped to answer questions about different cuts.
Key Finding – The survey also asked consumers about the most acceptable channels of communication retailers can use to further educate them. The number one communication channel is the beef website (63%) and number two is the beef package/label (60%).
Action Steps – Direct customers to BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com for a variety of recipes and resources. Add Easy Fresh Cooking labels to your beef packages so consumers can get information right when and where they need it.
Key Finding – Consumers also rated other action steps. Two thirds of consumers indicated four of the six ideas presented were at least somewhat interesting.
Action Steps – Here are the top four consumer ranked action steps and ways you can implement each one.
1.Provide materials that explain the variety of cuts available: Use this consumer video to inform customers about different beef cuts and where they come from.
2.Provide nutritional information about various cuts: Many consumers are unaware that there are 29 cuts of lean beef! The new beef checkoff-funded consumer advertising campaign focuses on making customers aware of these lean cuts. Learn more about the Profiles campaign. You can also get many resources to promote the nutritional value of beef in the Nutrition Central section on BeefRetail.org.
3.Provide more recipes at the meat case: Since consumers are preparing more meals at home, they’re looking for more ideas. Use recipes from the Beef Recipes & Photography section to create recipe cards to display in the meat case. Easy Fresh Cooking® labels are also great ways to give your customers new recipes. Since they are directly on package, your customers don’t have to worry about choosing the right cut.
4.Provide more meal suggestions in the meat case: Not only are your customers looking for new recipes, but they are also looking for complete meal solutions when coming to the meat department. Create displays near the meat case featuring related beef items like spaghetti noodles and sauce, helper pastas, etc. Refer to the promotional calendar for great related items you can use in cross merchandising so your customers can save more!
Keep these action steps in mind as you help your customers become more familiar with all the delicious cuts of beef! When your customers become more familiar with a variety of cuts, they will become more confident in their abilities to create delicious meals at home using these cuts. Inevitably, their added confidence will lead them to purchase more beef!
Source: “Beef Valuation Determinants Study,” Funded by The Beef Checkoff, Prepared by Mitchell Innovation + Research, Dec. 2009.